Tears of a Cherry Blossom
by icequeen8181
Summary: The revived version of Cherry Blossoms. SasukexOC Changed to M just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Kabuto was wakened by this sudden feeling of unsteadiness. His stomach churned as his approached the sleeping chambers of Orochimaru. He opened the door to find his master standing in his balcony with his robe hanging on his shoulders. As he approached, he saw that his master's shoulders were shaking and heard a low chuckle from his chest. Kabuto looked at the room to find a disaster scene surrounding him. There seemed to be a struggle. Tables were broken, the sheets on the bed were tossed to the side, a mirror broken, and there was shards of wood and glass scattered all over the floor.

"What happened here?" Kabuto asked. Orochimaru turned his head towards Kabuto. He wore an evil smirk across his face as if he was happy that he about this situation.

"Sound the alarm. There's a traitor in our village," he said to Kabuto, "They attempted to assassinate me in my sleep. Tell everyone to search for a man in a striped mask! Now!"

"Yes, Orochimaru," Kabuto said and disappeared.

Bells rang. People scurry to see what was going as they were waked from their dreams. Orichmaru walked from his chamber down the hall as many people passed him. A smile was upon his face as he relived the moment in his head perfectly. He saw himself catching the blade that was to pierce his heart with his right hand. He remember wrestling that person holding the blade to the ground and how the person escaped his grasp. He saw the blade being swung around him as it tried to cut him. He smirked as he remember how quick the man was to leaving when Orochimaru unleashed his snakes upon him.

This hadn't been the first time he had experience an attack. There had been many attacks against him in Otogakure. They had been small ones, a severed hand here, missing leg, or deep wounds that would leave permanent scarring. Then there was a body count soon. Ten of his followers had died with only the heads being returned at the gate. When they found the body, it was already half eaten by some black birds. He and Kabuto were able to keep these attacks quiet from anyone outside their territory and, because of these attacks; some of his followers have gotten so scared that they had attempted to leave Otogakure. This did not settle well with Orochimaru. He had threaten that if anyone had tried to leave, he would personal end their life for before they every reached the edge of the territory.

He felt something roll down his face that made him stop in his track. When he felt it, it was sticky. When he tasted it, it tasted like copper. His eyes widen when he saw the red liquid in his hand. He turned to the closest mirror to find a cut on his forehead and that his robe was stained red where his chest was. When he opened the robe, he saw many cuts, some deeper than others scattered all over his stomach and chest. 'Impossible,' he thought as he looked over his wounds. It had been so long since anyone had landed a scratch on him. He slow began to pile out of this skin as he tried to calm his nerve. "Now," he said to himself," Things are finally getting interesting."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Sasuke Uchiha ran through the forest traveling as fast as he could. His team had decided to split up to cover more ground. He knew like everyone else of these attacks against Orchimaru. He knew the routine: search the forest for any sign of the person or persons that had done it. And every time they would fall short. This job was starting to get really annoying. How was he supposed to catch someone that seemed to be so invisible? What was the point of it all? He sighed as he cupped his hands in a nearby stream. As he was about to take a sip of the water, he got this strange feeling that he wasn't alone. He kept his wits about him as he tried to act as natural as possible. With one swoop, he was attacked by a figure. He barely dodged the first attack as he felt a blade glade against his arm. Sasuke pulled his chotuko and got in ready to fight, but there was nothing there afterward. He slowly turned himself in a circle, trying to feel where the next attack was going to come from. His attacker was still here, he felt their eyes on him.

"There," he said and sprinted towards a bush. His attacker leaped into a tree and he followed, dodging throwing stars. He focused everything he had on this stealthy figure. He watched as it lost its footing and grabbed the ankle of his attacker. He reached up, grabbed the small waist of the figure, and threw all his body weight towards the ground, hurtling them at least twenty feet from the top.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Kabuto returned to Orochimaru's chamber.

"Orochimaru," he said as he entered the room. Orochimaru was smoking on a pipe, relaxing on his bed with his robe hanging loosely on his shoulders. His eyes closed as if he was meditating on a thought.

"Let me guess, you couldn't find him, could you?" he said slurring his words like a snake slivering on the ground slowly, waiting for the right moment to attack, "Come closer, Kabuto."

Kabuto cautiously stepped towards the bed. When he approached the bedside, he felt Orochimaru's hand lift his chin up to look at his snake-like eyes.

"Getting old must be a pain for you, Kabuto," he said as he stared Kabuto down with an evil glint in his eye, "Too bad. You were one of my best trackers I had. I see the bags under your eyes. Not been sleeping well? So terribly pathetic, shows signs of weakness."

"What did you need from me, sir?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru leaned in close to Kabuto till his nose was touching Kabuto's. "Everyone has reported back expect for Uchiha. Where is he, Kabuto?"

"I don't know," he replied after a hard gulp.

"You see what happens when you get old, Kabuto? Your memory starts to leave you and start to forget things. Poor little Kabuto, he's start to age so fast from all the work he is given," he said after taking a drag from his pipe, letting the smoke swirl around Kabuto's face, "Next time you give me an answer like that again and your throat will be cut open. Is that clear?

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Sasuke was running out of breath. How much longer was this person going to fight? He blocked a kick to his head and budded head the person. Finally, that seemed to slow down the masked figure. He watched them wobble and the mask covering their face fall to the ground, shattering into five different pieces. They try to cover their face, but Sasuke was quick, grabbing their wrist and pinned them against a tree. He soon found himself staring into a pair of gold eyes with a red rim around the pupil. He leaned his head back so he could look at the oval shape head and saw that it held feminine face. He saw the pink pulp lips, the high cheek bones, the small nose, and when he pulled back the hood of her vast, he watched as the dark red curls flow out of it. It was like he was in a different world all of a sudden. It wasn't till a sharp pain came from between his legs that he came hurtling back to reality. He released her and fell to the ground quicker than any other pain.

"Idiot," she spat as she tried to make her escape. Sasuke thought quickly and grabbed her ankle, making her trip again.

"You really need to work on not getting caught the same way twice," he said as he sat on her and pinned her arms to either side of her, "Now tell me why you tried to kill Orochimaru?"

"Why would I tell you that?" she said as she tried to free herself.

"If you want to live, then you'll tell me," he said as his grip got tighter.

"I rather be killed than surrender to one of his pawns like you," she spat.

Sasuke harden his glare on her. He wanted to make her crack and with a blink his eyes turned red, exposing Sharingan to her. She stopped fighting for he freedom and looked him in the eye. The black marks started to form all over his body. He saw a glint of fear in her eyes now. He had her.

He leaned down to her ear and whispered, "Now will you tell me before you die?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered back. He leaned in shock and saw that she was crying. "I had heard of Orochimaru's work, but I had never seen it. I'm so sorry," she said and kept saying sorry over and over as her tears flowed from her eyes. Sasuke felt his body tense again and he growled, "What are you trying to do? Trick me?"

Her tears got bigger after he tightens his grip on her wrist. She stares up at him almost begging with her eyes for him to let her go.

"Please," she whispered in a hoarse voice, "I know you're still human underneath it all."

He growled again at her, "Not till I get some answers!"

"I'm not the person you're looking!" she shouted, "I'm a diversion. Sensei would never let me go beyond the walls of Orochimaru's hide out."

Sasuke loosen his grip on her slowly as he started to change back into his normal self.

"So who did?" he asked.

"If I told you that, than I would be banished from the clan," she said.

"So what of this clan?" he asked.

"I can't tell you that either," she said, "Look, do whatever you need to do. I understand."

"You're expecting me to kill you? You must be one of the most stupid people I have ever met," he said smugly as he smirked down at her.

"So what are you going to do with me, Idiot?" she shot right back him with a glare to match her tone.

Sasuke sighed as he lifted himself off of her. He grabbed his chotuko and placed it back in its sheath.

"You better get out of here before the others come," he said with his back towards her.

"You're letting me go? Why?" she asked as she propped herself up with her arms.

He shrugged, "Leave before I change my mind."

She got up from where she was laying and ran off into the woods. In the opposite direction came Karin with a smile across her face.

"Sasuke-kun, you're all right," she said as she stopped in front of him. Following her was the rest of Team Taka.

"What happened here?" Suigestu asked as he examined the area.

"I was attacked," he said as he began to walk back towards the hideout.

"Be one of Neko people looks like," Suigestu said as he picked up a shattered of the girl's mask, "Looks like them got you pretty good too on your chest."

Sasuke looked down and saw there was a small **X** across his chest where his heart lies.

* * *

Author's Notes: So I decided to revives Cherry Blossoms, because I really like the storyline, but I wanted to make a little more... something. I hope you like it. :) Review please. ;3


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke sat on the railing of his balcony, watching the sun setting. His thoughts had drifted off to the previous night. The image of the girl he had met, or more like fought, was stuck in his head. Those eyes she had seem to be piercing his soul in a way that no girl had ever. Many girls had fallen for him and had begged him to take them. They would surrender to him at any time, but she fought until the last minute. He was impressed with her skills and strength as well. Strange how a being that could be so delicate could also be so strong? He smiled to himself. Her skin was soft, if he remembered correctly and if his memory was that strong, he could have sworn she smelt like cherries and honeysuckles. Everything about her figure screamed girl, but she had that toughness about her. His thoughts were interrupted by the opening of his door.

"Daydream again, Uchiha?" said the voice of Kabuto.

"What do you want?" he groaned as he leaned his head back to look at the four eyes creep.

"I want to know more about your attacker you told us about," Kabuto said as he adjusted his glasses.

"I told Orochimaru everything or were you too busy imagining what life would be like if you were normal?" Sasuke said with a smirk.

"You said that your attacker left only leave their shattered mask, correct?" Kabuto said ignoring Sasuke's statement.

"Where are you going with this?" Sasuke asked.

"You also stated that your attack was a small male, correct?" continued Kabuto, "Yet I don't know many males that would wear a flower in their hair."

Kabuto pulled out a cherry blossom hair pin from his pocket and presented it to Sasuke.

"Now I returned to the place you were attacked to make sure your story added up, but while I was investigating, I stumbled upon this. So your attacker was either an extremely feminine man or a lovely young lady. Which one is it, Sasuke?" Sasuke remained silent as he turned his glare from the pin to Orochimaru's right hand man.

"Next time we have an attack, you will bring this beautiful stag you let run off and present her as a gift to Orochimaru,"Kabuto said with a smirk, "I'm sure he would find better use of her than you could."

After the door slammed shut, Sasuke didn't hold back anymore and punch a hole in his wall. Low growl escaped his chest. He should have known better. He should have known that Kabuto would try to find a flaw in his story. Sasuke looked toward the balcony again and saw that twilight was settling in. He prayed that he would never see that she devil again.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Outside the walls of Orochimaru's hideout, there stood a tree. A black figure climbs on the tree with a sword strapped to their back. This person observed the area. Guards were stationed at every entrance that had a door. Seems that Orochimaru had upped his security this time. The figure decided to climb over the wall and stayed within the shadows. When it reached a window, it crept slowly into the hall that it lead them to. Cautiously, it walked down the hall and looked around every corner, carefully trying not to get caught. When it heard someone coming, it leapt into the darkest corner possible and watched Kabuto walk by. Once he passed, the figured raced down the hall as fast as they could and entered into the first room they found. They locked the door and let out a sigh of relief, but then tensed again when they found Sasuke's chotuko against their neck.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Sasuke felt the small waist of the person that entered his room unannounced and knew who it was. He threw her up against the wall, ripped her mask off, and pointed his chotuko at her neck.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in a low growl. He watched her hesitate before replying weakly, "I panicked."

Sasuke sighed, "I meant why are you here?"

"To get my pin back," she said timidly. Sasuke was shocked. What happened to the fearless girl he had met the other day? Now she was trembling in front of him and worried over a silly hair pin. He pulled his chotuko from her neck and backed away from her.

"Go away," he said as he turned his back to her and picked up her mask, "Never come back here again. You might as well forget about that stupid hair pin."

"What? No, I can't forget!" she said as she walked towards him, "Look, I saw that creepy guy with the glasses put it in his pocket. Maybe you could help me get it."

"Oh, and then Orochimaru kills me for helping one of possible hundreds that are against him," he replied sarcastically, "Do you ever think?"

"I would have thought of something if you said yes," she replied smartly. He chuckled at her silly response. 'Cute,' he thought. "It's very important to me, so if you're going to laugh about something that seems so pointless, then I might as well get myself," she said as she snatched her mask from Sasuke's hands and turned to storm out the door.

"Now what a minute, kid," Sasuke said as he grabbed her shoulder and made her face him.

"I'm a kid, I'm probably older than you for all you know and I have a name too," she replied smugly.

"And that would be…" He stared at her waiting for her response.

"Hanako," she said blushing a little at her embarrassment.

"Okay, Hanako, what do you suggest we do?" Sasuke asked as he crossed his arms across his chest.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Kabuto sat in his arm chair as he stared at the hair pin, twirling it around in his index finger and thumb. A smirk was planted across his face as he thought about the Uchiha and the stag he let get away. She must have been real beauty for someone like Sasuke to let go. He chuckled as he imagined the young teen possible stumbling over himself when he saw this lovely doe. Then he remembered Orochimaru's words after they integrated the Uchiha.

"_I fear for him. Being so young and handsome," he said, "He'll fall in love one day, but for you, I know you would never try. So old and strange you are, Kabuto. Who would ever like an insect like you?"_

After that comment, Orochimaru gave him the orders to do farther investigation on Uchiha's story. Kabuto looked back at the cherry blossom hair pin and found that a single strand of hair was still caught in it. He took it and slowly started to examine it. He placed it on a scroll and started writing out a tracking jutsu when his train of thought was interrupted by the bang of his door being opened.

"Kabuto," came Sasuke's voice from behind him. Kabuto grumble as he got up from his chair to look at the Uchiha.

"Yes," he said politely as he adjusted his glasses.

"What if I were to find the girl right now?" Sasuke asked as he entered the room. Kabuto studied him for a second. He sensed something was off.

"What do you mean?" he asked as watch how carefully Sasuke was standing. His hand on his chotuko and his stance was rather wide as if prepping himself for an attack. He was really hiding something now. Kabuto stepped really close to Sasuke and whispered in his ear, "She's here isn't she?" And in that moment Kabuto threw one of his needles at the figure reaching for the hair pin on the table, stunning them and they fell to the floor. Sasuke pulled his chokuto and pointed it at Kabuto at that moment.

"Fix her!" he growled, but Kabuto just chuckle.

"You barely know this create and you already have sympathy towards something so pathetic," Kabuto said as he walked over to the body. He removed the mask which revealed the softest face he had ever seen. "Such a pretty face," he smirked as he heard the Uchiha run to attack him, but he hit one of his charka points stunning him as well, "Pitiful isn't it? To watch something so useless die, must be even harder for you to see it happen twice in your life."

Hanako was no die yet as she pulled the needle that hit her in her right shoulder. She wasn't going let this creep win, so when his attention was toward Sasuke, so pulled out a knife and stabbed him right in his thigh and made sure in was deep. Kabuto yelled from the pain and was kicked from the right side of his head.

"How dare you call me pathetic," she growled as grabbed her hair pin, "I'm Tsugaru Hanako of the Dragon tribe, so if you think I'm a weak being, you better think twice."

Kabuto stared at the beauty that stood before. He chuckled as he said, "A Tsugaru? Aren't you all suppose to be extinct? If my memory serves me correctly, Tsugaru Dai was put to death by his own village that the Dragon tribe looked after and they went after every living member of that tribe. Unless you're the missing member that everyone is trying so hard to find."

Hanako was feeling the poison start to kick in as she wobbled a little. She knew Kabuto had cornered her. Why did she let her pride get the best of her? Her vision was getting blurry and she felt as though the room was spinning. The last thing she remembered was feeling someone pick her up before everything went black.

* * *

Author's Note: So that's Hanako. (YAY!) I'm not 100% sure where I want to go with her. I want her to be this caring and kind person, but at the same time I want her to totally kick ass and take names. She is the love interest for Sasuke for those of you who haven't read Cherry Blossoms. Leave you're reviews to let me know what you think of it. :)


	3. Chapter 3

When Hanako opened her eyes she saw a big, burly man hovering over her and dabbing here forehead with a wet cloth.

"Koji," she said in a raspy voice.

"Shhhh…," he said, "You need to rest."

"How long have I've been asleep?" she asked.

"Three days," he said as he smiled at her. Koji may be the strongest man physically in the Neko Freedom clan, but he was just a gentle giant. He has been with Hanako as long as she could remember and, according to him, longer than that.

"My hair pin!" she gasped.

"Is on the side table," he said as he picked it up to show her, "See?" She smiled up at him and felt at ease.

"Well looks like her majesty is awake," said a new voice and Hanako saw a tall, lanky man with jet black hair that was always slicked back entering the room.

"Mushi," she said and reached out a hand for him. He ignored it and pulled out a chair so he could sit.

"You better be lucky I noticed you were missing or you would have been dead right about now," he said with a stern look on his face. Hanako never liked it when Koji went all "big brother" on her. It made her feel like she was still that little kid that almost sliced her finger off when she was playing with a sharp dagger. "Sensei will want to talk to you when you're better," he said.

"What for?" she asked.

"What do you mean what for?" Mushi asked as he raised his voice.

"Mushi, you're really not help the situation here," Koji said trying to keep Mushi from blowing his top off, "She's been through a lot and yelling at her isn't going to help."

"But you saw how much trouble she got us into. All over that stupid hair pin," Mushi said.

"It's not stupid! It was my mother's," she spat back him and the cringed when she felt a harsh sting from her right shoulder.

"Mushi, I think you need to leave," Koji said as he put himself between Mushi and Hanako.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Orochimaru sat in his arm chair with Sasuke and Kabuto knelt with their hands tied behind their back. Orochimaru clicked his fingers on the wooden arm of his chair as he rubbed his chin with the other. There was tension in the room so thick that it would be hard to cut with a knife. Everyone was holding their breath. One wrong move and you were dead.

"So, SHE was here and SHE took out one of my best men and tricked another one to do her dirty work," he said in a shaky voice. He was so angry that he was trembling. Sasuke and Kabuto were bloody and bruised all over. Sasuke had a swollen eye and blood still trickling from his jaw. He was in so much pain and for what, a stupid girl. It hurt to breathe as he tried to inhale. He saw from the corner of his eye that Kabuto was in worse shape than him. He was battered from head to toe and saw that some of his white hair was caked in blood as it rounded down the side of his face.

"What made you think about even helping her, Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked as he leaned forward in his chair and gripped hard on the arms of his chair. Sasuke didn't answer; he just hung in head in shame. Why did he help her?

"She's a Tsugaru," Kabuto said in a raspy voice. This got Orochimaru interested. He quickly got up from his chair, walked over to Kabuto and grabbed his chin.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"She's the missing Tsugaru," Kabuto said again as he ached from how hard Orochimaru was gripping his face. Orochimaru felt something click and wore the evilest smile anyone had ever seen. He threw Kabuto to the side as he slowly walked back to his chair.

"It's so brilliant," he said as he took his seat. He then turned his attention to Sasuke, "Release them and make sure their wounds are fully healed," he leaned toward Sasuke and whispered, "I want you in my chamber tonight. We have many things to discuss."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Tsunade took a long drag from her pipe as she tried to calm her nerves. This man was a named a rouge ninja from Kirigakure for the past twenty years and here he was standing in front of her asking her to look after another little brat.

"Arihiro-san, you are asking us to do the impossible. Who's to say that she is not going to run?" she asked as she turned her attention to the rather muscular elder man in front of her.

"Orochimaru knows of her by now and he'll want her just as much as he wanted the Uchiha," Arihiro said as he stood with his arm crossed behind his back, "She is the last Tsugaru of the Dragon clan."

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose and she sighed. This could mean lots of trouble for her by assisting a rouge ninja, not to mention the fact the last surviving member of a clan that was killed by the people of its village. This had crazy written all of over it.

"What do you think I should do, Jiraiya?" she asked her former teammate who stood next to the rogue ninja.

"I say we take her," he said simply, "What more trouble could she cause?"

"You would say something like that, wouldn't you?" she said smirking at her long time friend.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Naruto yawned as he walked along side of his team as they made their way deeper in the forest.

"How much longer, Kakashi?" he groaned, "We've been walking for hours."

"Really?" their masked sensei said, "I could have sworn it's only been twenty minutes."

"That's because it has only been twenty minutes," grumbled Sakura as she smacked Naruto in the back of the head, "Now stop complaining!"

Naruto stuck his bottom lip in a pout as he received a death glare from the pink haired girl. He kept quiet the rest of the way as he rubbed his now injured head. Sai stopped first followed by the rest of his team. Figures in the shadows were walking towards them. When they got closer, Team 7 noted that there was no need to be alerted. It was members of the Neko Clan.

"Names," Kakashi asked in a stern voice.

"I'm Mushi Usagi, member of the Neko Clan Freedom fighters," the dark haired man replied as he crossed his arms.

"Koji Kokoro, member of the Neko Clan," said the burly man with spiked blonde hair.

"Hanako Tsugaru," the girl in the middle said as she looked to the ground in dismay, "I am to go into hiding."

Naruto looked her over. She wasn't half bad to look at. Very pretty face, curvy body, all parts well developed, plump lips, and very curly red hair, not something you see every day. He then felt a jabbed to the side given by Sakura. She saw him staring. "Don't gawk like that, idiot," she whispered harshly

Kakashi approached the group and placed a hand on Hanako's shoulder. "You have nothing to fear," he said to her, "We can guarantee that my team and I will do everything, to make sure you are safe."


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke sat on the floor of his room, meditating. He was preparing himself for his training session. He was trying to emptying his mind of all the things that were fogging up his concentration for the pass week. Why was she still in his head? He still saw her face no matter how many times he tried to empty his mind of all things "foolish". He felt his body temperature get higher every time he thought of those soft looking lips and those piercing gold eyes. His heart was beating faster as he continued to imagine the red haired beauty. This was frustrating him even more than before as he pounded his fist through the floorboard. This was not fair at all. Why did she have to be so pretty? Why did he find her mannerisms so cute? Why did he always feel a knot in his stomach whenever he thought of her? It was more than unfair. It felt so unnatural to him and it made him feel sick every time he got this way.

"Sasuke," he looked up to find his team leader, Suigesti, stand in the doorway of his room, "It's time for your training."

Sasuke merely nodded and started to recompose himself.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Hanako started to brush her hair that morning. She looked in the mirror and observed the sad look on her face. She deserved this punishment, all over her stupid hair pin. Why couldn't she just grow up? She was sixteen and still acting like she was still a little kid in all sorts of situations. Now Koji babies her more, Mushi can't stand being around her and Arihiro-sensei put her into hiding. She looked down at the hair pin that she cherished so much. It was only thing she had left of her family. She picks it up and puts it in her hair where it has always been placed, on the left of her head to hold up her bangs that would get in the way of everything. She sighed as she took one more look at herself in the mirror.

"Well Tsugaru, this is as good as it's going to get," she said to herself.

Hanako decided to walk around Konohagakure. She wanted to know the area that she was going to live in for a while just in case. She admired the sense of community that surrounded her. It was different from the life she had been living. Where the Neko clan always lived in the shadows, here people were selling stuff, trading items, asking about their day or just smiling to say hello. She would occasional wave back and smile. She let out a content sigh as she thought to herself, "Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought it would be." She found her way to a bridge where she found the three members of Team 7 waiting. Sai, the quiet dark haired one, was leaning against a post with a sketch pad drawing a picture. Sakura, the only girl of the team, was sitting on the railing of the bridge letting her legs swing back and forth as she hummed a little tune. And Naruto, the loud mouth blonde with whiskers, was pacing back and forth on the bridge.

"He's late again!" groaned Naruto.

"What do you expect? He does it all the time," Saruka said in a know-it-all tone.

"Yeah, but not when we're losing precious daylight. I need this training to improve my skills," Naruto said as he went into a fighting stance.

"You kinda look like an idiot, right now," Hanako said as she joined the group. She crossed her arms and leaned against a post as she wore a smirk on her face. Naruto shot a coy smile at her for her comment.

"What would you know about fighting?" he asked as he went from his fighting stance into an attention stance with his arms cross.

"Plenty enough to know that I can take a loser like you in one blow," she replied smugly.

"Well, that sounds like an interesting challenge," Kakashi said as he appeared on the bridge, "But I think it would be in your best interest Hanako Tsugaru if you didn't try to draw so much attention to yourself. Remember that you are in hiding."

Her smirk turned into a glare. "Why? Why is it so important for me to always be low key? Why can no one know about me?" she asked in a frustrated tone, "First Arihiro-sensei, then Koji and Mushi, and now you. What do I have to hide from?"

Before Kakashi could response, Hanako left running back to the town to find a place to be alone.

"Why does she have to hide, sensei?" Sakura said.

"Because she is the last remaining member of one the most powerful clans that has ever lived," he said.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Mushi was working on his technique with Koji that afternoon deep in the forest. Mushi did his best to avoid Koji's large sledge hammer as he jumped from branch to branch.

"What's a matter? Age catching up with you?" Mushi said in a taunting voice.

"Can we take a break?" Koji asked as he leaned on the handle of his hammer.

"Sure, buddy," Mushi said jumping down from the tree as he reached for the canteens. He handed one to his much taller friend and leaned against a tree. He noted how dazed Koji was. "You miss her, don't cha?" Mushi asked as he wiped his mouth. Koji looked up his comrade with a sad smile. They knew each too well.

"It was the right thing to do, Koji-san," Mushi said looking away, "That snake bastard would have tracked her down at the drop of a hat and use that kid to get her too."

"What makes you say that?" Koji asked.

"You saw how he was looking at her when we were escaping!" he exclaimed as he tighten his grip on his canteen, "Little brat even chased us and would have caught up too if I hadn't stunned him."

Koji knew exactly where Mushi was going with this.

"Hanako needs protection. We talked about this already," Mushi said trying to dismiss the topic.

"You have to attempt that he was pretty fast," Koji snickered. Mushi glared, "Let's stop talking about this, okay? We need to head back to camp."

The two men left, unknown to them that they were being watched.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Hanako laid out next to a river twirling a piece of her as she stared up at the starry sky. She sighed sadly. Homesickness had to be the sickness to feel. She thought about Mushi and Koji and how she missed seeing their smiles and how they would always tease her about everything and anything. She missed Koji's caring nature for her, always making sure she wasn't too hurt. She missed Mushi's way of never cutting her slack for anything, but he always gave the best hugs though when she was sad.

"You know you should never have your guard down in any moment," said a voice. She sprang up into a low crouch. Her eyes widen when she saw who came from the shadow. The Uchiha.

"What do you want?" she growls as she stood up straight, trying to be as threaten as possible.

He merely smirked at her as his eyes wondered; scanning every curve she had on her. Hanako didn't like how his eyes would stay on one part of her for so long; it wasn't until they had locked eyes she had decided to make a run for it. Instead of sprinting out of the woods, she found herself pinned up against a tree with her hands held above her head. He was dangerous close to her face. She could feel his breath against her lips and she felt a chill run up her spine when she stared into his onyx eyes. She blushed and tries to look away from him.

"Cute," he said in a husky voice. He leaned in and started to nibble on her ear. She let out a content sigh, but cursed herself for not holding it back. Stupid girl hormones. She felt him smirk at her reaction and continued to kiss along her jaw line and down her neck. He sucked and licked on a very sensitive spot which made her twitched and swarm beneath him. Her head was spinning and her vision was clouded.

"Stop," she said hoarsely. Sasuke lifted his head from the spot on her neck and looked her dead in the eye. He smirked when he saw how pink her cheeks. She was flustered and yet trembling under his touch.

"Why?" he asked, "It's so clear you like this."

"Don't tease me," she said looking him straight in the eye with a stern look on her face, "I'm not to be used like a toy."

He remained motionless, unreadable. He then leaned in and took her lips, stealing the most precious thing to a young girl had, her first kiss. He was gentle and he lingered for the longest time. When they broke apart, Hanako felt the fireworks go off in her head and how wobbly her knees were.

"Hn, cute," he said.


	5. Chapter 5

Arihiro watched the young man walk cautiously through the woods. Now was a perfect time to spring down and kill Orochimaru's pawn, but that was not the reason he tracked the little prick. With one swift jumped, landed on the balls of his feet with ease in front of the young man. The young man quick to react pulls out his chotuko and points at Arihiro.

"Wrong move," he said and kicks him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He grabs him by the scalp and has the young man look him in the eye, "I've tracked you this whole, you little bastard. Give a good reason why I shouldn't kill you?"

"I…. I….," Sasuke had a hard time talking as he tried to breathe, but Arihiro was making it hard.

"Answer me, swine," he growls. His veins were popping out of his neck, his face was red with anger, he was ready to kill, because his scarred eye was changing from black to pure white, making the pupil disappear.

"I cause her no harm," Sasuke said as he fought for his breath.

"And why should I believe that, pig?" Arihiro growled deeply, "I know what Orochimaru wants and, trust me; I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that you never see her again. I'll hunt you down like the dog you are and skin you alive." Grabbing him by his throat, Arihiro shoved Sasuke against a tree. Orochimaru had said that the leader of the Neko Clan was strong, but feeling his force and grip was more than Sasuke had imagined, not to mention he seemed to be as crazy as Orochimaru as he watch Arihiro drool dribble out of the side of his mouth.

"Now here's the deal kid," he spoke as he leaned his face close to Sasuke, "You're not going to mention where Hanako is to anyone. You're not to see her ever again. Don't even think about her. She is nothing to you. To her, you are nothing more than a silly country boy from where she comes from. Her clan is more powerful than any other clan you can think of. She'll never want you, just like you'll never want anyone else. And if I ever catch you seeking for her again, I'll slit your neck so fast that you'll never know it happened."

With a puff of smoke he was gone and Sasuke could finally breathe again. Gasping for air, he laid there on the ground, unable to move. Soon the world around him went black.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

The next morning, Hanako found herself in the market place where she was going to meet Sakura for, what she called, "much needed girl bonding time." Hanako felt like she was still in a daze from last night. She had her first kiss and what a wonderful first kiss it was. It was strange how someone who seemed so arrogant could kiss so sweetly. She sighed happily to herself as she twirled a piece of her hair. She felt so different. She had never felt her head so high up in the clouds, it was like nothing could bring her back down. She could see him now standing in front of her with that cool smirk on his face and could hear him say, "Cute." It made her let out a small squeal just thinking about it.

"Hanako-chan?" came Sakura's voice. She turned to face the pink haired girl and blushed in embarrassment.

"Sakura? How long have you been standing there?" she asked in a sheepish voice.

"Long enough to hear the squeals of joy," Sakura giggled, "Glad to see you're better from yesterday."

Hanako nodded her head with excitement, "Very much. I guess it must have been a good night's rest or something. So what is first on our girl time?"

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Sasuke woke up with Orochimaru standing at his bedside, taking a long drag from his pipe.

"I was worried," he said as he exhaled the smoke, "You gave us a scare when we found you in the forest all bruised. Luckily you were still breathing."

Sasuke just stared. No emotion on his face. He sighed and turned his head to the ceiling.

"Where did you go last night?" Orochamaru asked.

"The river," Sasuke answered.

"So, you're going to be honest with me, huh," Orochimaru smirked, "Why the river?"

Silence. Sasuke was thinking back to that night when he kissed Hanako. He thought about how soft those lips were. She was a delicate as if he were to leave his fingerprints on her skin just by barely touching her. He thought of her deep red hair and its mess of curls. He thought back to the night by the river as they laid in the grass staring up at the sky with their fingers intertwined.

"_You're rather quiet," she said, "It makes you seems mysterious."_

_He chuckled a little, "You wouldn't be the first person to say that."_

"_Well, then," she said as she tried to retrieve her hand back, but he wouldn't let her go. He lost that fight and turned his head to watch her turn on her side away from him. He stared at her for a while and turned himself too and reached his hand to touch her soft hair._

"_You're beautiful," he said. She didn't respond. He didn't like this feeling he was getting as she continued to give him the cold shoulder. He sighed as he scooted his body closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back close to him._

"_So beautiful," he said softly in her ear as he felt her shiver._

"She is a pretty thing, yes?" Orochimaru said as Sasuke was brought back from his daydream. He saw how close Orochimaru's face was to his and the evil smirk that was spread across his face was rather disturbing, "You're thinking about her, aren't you? She would be a real catch."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Hanako was in Sakura's room with Ten-Ten, Hinata , and Ino while Sakura was getting refreshments downstairs. The girls were giggling and playing with each other's hair. Hanako listened as they talked about the boys they all fancied.

"You're kidding me," Ino said with a raised eyebrow, "Lee?"

"Well, it's not that I like him like him, it's more like he could be a good candidate," Ten-Ten said as she flipped through a magazine, "I know he's can be a bit strange, but he's sweet, dedicated, strong…"

"Annoying, pig-headed, and have you seen those eyebrows," Ino said as she tied up Hinata's hair.

"Well at least it's better than Choji," Ten-Ten shot back.

"Hey, don't you bring him into this," Ino sneered back. Hanako giggled as the two bickered over such nonsense.

"Hanako-chan?" asked Hinata as she moved some of Hanako's hair, "What's the read mark on your neck?"

It struck Hanako like a brick was thrown at her face. This caught the other girls' attention quickly.

"Oh a hickey," Ino said and with a playful smirk, she asked, "So who's it from?"

"Ah… no it's not," Hanako said as she tried hiding it again, "It's a bug bite."

"Bug bite?" Ten-Ten said as she raised an eyebrow, "Where were you to get a bite that big?"

"The river," Hanako said quickly trying to keep her face from blushing.

"Lies! Your face is practically red!" Ino squealed, "Now tell us."

"But I was at the river last night," she said trying to defend herself.

"I got the snacks," Sakura said as she entered the room with a tray of food, "So what's new? What did I miss?"

"I'm going to go," Hanako said and got up before anyone could stop her.

How embarrassing? She felt like such an idiot as she walked in the streets, kicking a pebble in her way. What was she supposed to say?

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Sasuke decided to disregard Arihiro's warning. He traveled back to that same river. When Hanako wasn't there, he sat under a tree in the shadows to see if she would appear tonight. He hoped she would. He wanted to see that delicate face again. He wanted to feel her soft lips against his. Sasuke waited for hours waiting for her to show, and when she didn't, he chose to find her. When he walked the path on the other side of the river, he found it led him to Konohagakure's gates. He looked all around to find guards at the entrance and along the wall. He smirked. "Too easy," he said to himself as he started to scale the tallest tree near the wall.

**xoxoxoxoxoxox**

Hanako sat in her bed, cuddling her pillow close. She felt so embarrassed and tried to convince herself that that kiss Sasuke gave her probably ment nothing. She sighed. She shouldn't have let him go so far, but he is such a handsome man that anyone would want him to kiss them. She thought back to last night before they departed.

"_Sun will be rising soon," she said. Hanako was now facing Sasuke with one arm supporting her head and her other hand rubbing his chest gently._

"_Hn," Sasuke said. He decided to pull her closer to him so there was no gap between._

"_They'll find out I'm not in my room," she said in a soft voice as she felt their lips graze against each other._

"_Hn," he said and started to kiss her neck._

"_They'll start looking for me, Sasuke," she said as she trembled under his kisses._

"_Hn," he said as he tried to kiss her lips, but Hanako placed a finger on his mouth stopping him from following through._

"_Sasuke, they'll find us together. They'll imprison you for betraying Konohagakure. I'll never see you again," she said. Sasuke saw how concern she was for him in those piercing gold eyes._

"_You worry too much, Hanako," he said before he kissed her again._

Hanako felt herself blush just thinking about his kiss. It was the best feeling in the world. His kiss was almost like a drug that she made her wanting more. Her train of thought was disturbed by more weight being added to her bed.

"You weren't at the river," said a husky voice from behind her. She froze as she felt her pillow being taken away from her and was replace by a pair of strong arms. She felt him nestle his face in her curls. She was in a daze the whole time as she felt his warm body next to hers and then reality hit. She jumped out of his arms to the other side of the bed. She started to panic.

"How did you find me?" she asked keeping the distant between them.

"I'm a good tracker," Sasuke said as he tried to retrieve her back to his arms.

"You shouldn't be here," Hanako said as she got off the bed, "They might know you're here."

"Those ANBU police don't know I'm here," he said getting off the bed too and walking toward her, "For all they know, I'm still in Otogakure."

"But…" she stumbled to find the words to say when she found herself cornered. He had a half smile on his face, happy about how this situation had turned into.

"Cute," he said as he tilted her chin with one hand and kissed her softly on her lips. Hanako felt herself go back into that daze state again. It was so heavenly. She felt his tongue try to enter her mouth and she let him in willingly. She snaked her arms around his neck to bring him closer, to deepen their kiss. Sasuke had on hand against the wall for support and one at the small of her back to keep her close to him. She released her mouth from his and started making small kisses on his neck. She knew she found his sensitive spot when she heard him inhale sharply.

"Hanako," he said softly, "Don't."

"Why?" she said looking up at him with a smirk, "You sound like you're enjoying this a lot." He placed his forehead against hers looking deeply in her golden eyes.

"If we continue like this, then there would be no turning back," Sasuke said with all seriousness.

"What do you…. Oh," she said as she blushed at what he meant.

"Hn, cute," he said as he leaned in for another kiss, but stopped when heard a voice that was familiar from down stairs.

"Hanako!" called a female voice, "Are you here? Look I'm sorry for what the girls said to you. Will you come back to the sleepover?"

Sasuke was ready to make a break for the window, but Hanako grabbed him by the collar and placed a finger to her lips for him to keep quiet. She motioned her head toward to closet for him to hide there. Sasuke climbed into the small closet as Hanako checked herself in the mirror hoping that her swollen lips would not give anything away.

"Hanako?" Sakura said as she approached the door to Hanako's room.

"Sakura-chan!" Hanako exclaimed as she opened the door to the young pinked haired ninja, "What a surprise? I figured you were having fun at your slumber party."

"Well it's not much of a slumber party with the girls feeling bad on running you," Sakura said with an empathetic look, "They're all really sorry about calling you out on your bite. Please come back."

"Oh," she was hesitant to reply, but then figured it would be for the best, "All right, just wait outside as I grab a few things."

"OH THANK YOU!" Sakura exclaimed as she pulled Hanako in a bear hug, "Okay, I'll be outside, but don't take too long."

When he heard the door closed, Sasuke left the closet he was hiding in and saw Hanako start packing a few things. She looked up at him and smiled sadly.

"It's for the best, you know," she said approaching him, "If anyone knew you were here tonight…"

"I know," he said as he stroked her cheek. He saw the hair pin on her dresser next to him, grabbed it and placed it in her hair. He gave her a half smile. She smiled warmly back at him and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

"Watch from the window. When Sakura and I are out of your site, make your escape," she said, "And be safe."


End file.
